Former top policeman remanded
PROBE PANEL FINDS ANWAR, 3 OTHERS RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING OF MEHSUD
The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Karachi has remanded former Senior Superintendent of Police Malir Rao Anwar in custody until May 2, in connection with the murder of Naqeebullah Mehsud.
The hearing into Mehsud’s murder case, allegedly in a staged police encounter, was held yesterday.
The former senior police official, along with 11 of his detained subordinates and 14 absconders, is accused of abducting Naseemullah, aka Naqeebullah Mehsud, for ransom and later killing him, along with three other detainees, in the staged encounter in Malir on January 13.
Planting evidence
The accused officers had initially reported the murder as an ‘encounter’ against militants, Dawnonline reported.
Anwar, along with the other suspects, has also been booked for planting false evidence — pistols and hand grenades — on Mehsud and three others after killing them in the shootout, and later registering a false case against the deceased under the Sindh Arms Act for illegal possession of arms and explosives.
Yesterday, Anwar was escorted by the police to the ATC in an armoured personnel carrier. He refused to answer reporters’ questions.
Meanwhile, it emerged on Friday that the JIT formed on the Supreme Court’s directives had held Anwar and three others responsible for the killing of Mehsud in a fake encounter.
“The JIT found Rao Anwar guilty of killing an innocent person, Naqeebullah Mehsud, in a fake encounter,” a JIT member who wished not to be named told Dawn.
Around 15 accused police officers have been declared as absconders in the case.